


The Great and Powerful Slayers: Next

by Belligerent_Bindlestiff



Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Slayers (Anime & Manga)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-11-30 06:42:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11458149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Belligerent_Bindlestiff/pseuds/Belligerent_Bindlestiff
Summary: After acting on Lina Inverse's parting advice. Trixie finds herself at square one after nearly being corrupted by the Alicorn amulet.Sequel to "The Great and Powerful Slayers".





	1. Crimson Beyond

Trixie Lulamoon was not having a good _week_. She’d essentially enslaved Ponyville, drawing the ire of everypony and had been thoroughly defeated once again at the hooves of Twilight Sparkle. Yet despite all of her failures, she was forgiven. She had tapped into the potent, but dark powers of the Alicorn Amulet and hadn’t even noticed how easily it took control, coaxing the desire to have everypony look to her.

The showmare was aboard an airship, simply wanting to distance herself from where she nearly lost herself and from those she had hurt at the cost of her pride.

Where did Trixie go wrong? She asked herself, while looking out to the east, past the Unicorn Mountains.

The rays of light began to touch the desert on the horizon. The Dry Outpost, near Saddle Arabia, was where she acquired the Alicorn Amulet, and when she met _that_ mare. Ironically, it was aboard this very airship when Trixie last saw that sorceress.

Trixie wanted to be strong like you Lina, and now look at where it got me.

“Next stop, the Dry Outpost!” the airship’s pilot yelled.

////

Trixie wasn’t exactly sure why, but she felt deeply inclined to return to this place, where she stumbled once again on the road to fame.

The showmare got off the aircraft and began to walk about the small settlement. She recalled the first time she was here with Lina, when the other mare somehow detected the magic of the Alicorn Amulet, and when she returned here to buy the item.

She made her way to the outskirts of the town; beyond it just swathes of endless desert until perhaps one hit Saddle Arabia. The morning sun was already intensifying into the heat that was all too familiar with this region. For some reason, Trixie just continued going forward, not turning back to even look at the Dry Outpost.

Nopony had even taken notice that the mare had just gone off on her own, apart from the curious crew of the airship wondering where the owner of the wagon aboard their vessel had gone off to.

////

The heat was beginning to become unbearable but Trixie just continued walking, sand for miles all around and only a fleeting image of the Dry Outpost in the background could be seen.

“What is Trixie doing?!” the mare exclaimed. “Get a hold of yourself Trixie!”

She had already been on this trek, under a more forgiving morning sun, for an hour already . Now the full heat of the desert was upon her. She ran back for the outpost.

It wasn’t an easy feat to be able to climb the dunes. Her hooves just weren’t used to gaining traction over the sand. Over the next, particularly large, dune Trixie had over compensated for climbing over so much that she tripped and went tumbling down.

Luckily, after a moment of being disoriented, she regained her bearings and lowly got to her hooves. It was then that she noticed a blinding ray of light from the ground.

“What is this?” Trixie asked. She tried to levitate the object but it seemed to be far too heavy for telekinesis. So she approached and tried to use her hooves as well. Still the object did not move.

Trixie growled and surged her magical grasp on the item, and gave it another tug with it and her hooves. The light only intensified, which sent the showmare backward as she tried to cover her eyes.

“How dare you!” Trixie exclaimed. She then lunged at the offending object. "Trixie will break you!”

But instead of any sort of collision, the showmare passed through the shining surface.

////

Trixie felt herself fly through the air, much cooler air, and saw that there was a great deal of space between her and the ground. The showmare fell a good six feet before belly flopping on the grass below.

She struggled to get to her hooves, but found that the lengths of her legs were off, her hind legs were longer and made her awkwardly misalign her whole body. Stranger yet was the sensation she felt from her front hooves.

She could actually feel the grass beneath them. Trixie looked down to see strange, pale-colored, claws. “What the-“ Trixie exclaimed and reeled into the air as she would normally have from any shocking realization. But then, as she did, her back hit the side of a tree and she felt oddly…right when she was stuck in this position.

She looked at those “claws” she had. They didn’t look like much in the way of claws, not at least like a dragon’s or even griffon talons. There were other things off about this body of…whatever it was she was now. She noted-

“Take that you creep!” a voice yelled, interrupting Trixie’s thought. It was a voice that she thought she’d never hear again.

////Moments Before////

“It’s almost too easy.” A red-haired sorceress said whispering to the swordsman next to her. “I swear, these bandits are almost as dumb as you Gourry. They literally left a trail of loot leading to their hideout.”

She then stretched a hand out to pick up a coin on the ground from the bushes they were hiding in.

“Lina, you say they’re dumb, but they had to have noticed you doing that!” Gourry said, in an excited whisper.

“Hey, what was that!?” a gruff voiced bandit yelled. He turned to where he thought he saw movement. “Eh, was probably a squirrel.” He continued with the rest of his group.

Lina and Gourry exchanged incredulous looks with each other, but remained silent to keep pace with the bandits.

Eventually, the two of them were led to an encampment in the woods. There had to be dozens of boorish looking bandits in the clearing, all surrounding a cooking fire with their ringleader sitting not far off.

Around the man were bags upon bags of gold and treasure. Most striking was the layout of his encampment, everything from furniture to treasure appeared arranged as an outdoor throne room.

“Boy, that place sure had a lot of stuff, eh boss?” the bandit from before asked.

“It sure did boys.” Their leader said. “Just look at all this stuff! We’ll be set for a good long while with all this!”

Lina then jumped up, cape flapping in the air, as if on cue, and landed in front of the mass of bandits.

“Wow, look at all of this loot you gathered. Aw, you shouldn’t have!” Lina said.

The ringleader then stood up from his makeshift throne and yelled at the sorceress. “I don’t know what a runt like you is doin here, but we ain’t just gonna let you come here and say things like that!”

A few of the closest bandits brandished their weapons and edged toward Lina. The sorceress smirked and moved her hands into a position that looked like she was holding a bow and arrow.

“Flare arrow!” she said, and then a streak of fire shot into a bandit, instantly setting him ablaze.

He panicked and then ran into the group of his friends, nearly setting them on fire as well before he ran off.

The other bandits that had approached Lina recoiled and hesitated.

“You witch!” the bandit boss yelled. “What are you waiting for?” he continued yelling at his crew.

Having found new fervor, a dozen bandits moved in with their swords and various weapons pointed at Lina. She, in turn, stretched her hand in front of her and called forth another spell.

“Digger volt!” she said, and a wave of lightning shot out, electrocuting the attackers. Each one of the bandits hit by the spell dropped their weapons and their roar of battle changed into babbling of electrocution.

Despite that, however, it didn’t stop the remaining ranks to push forward. But before they could reach their target, their weapons were cut into pieces by the swordsman that was lying in wait. Gourry jumped out, his blue armor catching the lights of the sun just right as to make it shimmer.

Before any of them could react, they only heard Lina yell, “Fireball!”

The spell essentially blew everyone away from the point of impact in the middle of the ranks of bandits. Those who weren’t down for the count scrambled to their feet and fled. All that remained was the bandit boss, mouth agape.

“Damn you!” he yelled, pulling out a sword.

Lina merely shrugged and launched another fireball in his direction. The bandit boss panicked and grabbed a rather large bag of treasure to shield himself.

“No, the treasure!” Lina yelled, but the spell made contact with the sack and treasure exploded in every direction.

Molten coins, exploded statues, and a mirror flew into the air and into a section of the forest nearby.

“Oh, so you really want this stuff that badly do you?” the bandit boss asked.

He then dove into his piles of loot. “Haha, looks like you can’t do anything to me if you want any of my stuff!”

Lina growled. “Hey, you get out of there! I worked my butt off to track you down!”

“But Lina, you said this was one of the easiest groups of bandits you ever tracked!” Gourry said.

“Shut up Gourry!” Lina exclaimed. “I’m trying to make a statement here! Anyways, for you Mr. Bandit Chief, I don’t need to blow you up in order for me to deal with you!”

"Yeah, you can just leave, you little flat chested pipsqueak!"

"What was that?!" Lina said, her tone darkening. "Oh, I'm not going to let you get away now." The sorceress wore an evil grin.

The bandit boss choked back before retorting, “I knew it was a bad idea to loot that place…”

“Ray wing!” Lina said, invoking her spell.

A burst of air launched the bandit from his hiding place and high into the air.

"Fireball!" Lina said, shooting the airborne bandit with the spell, sending him careening away and immolated.

“Aiyeeee!” he screamed as he flew off into the distance.

“And take that you creep!” Lina yelled to the bandit chief in the distance. She then turned to Gourry. “Now that that’s been settled, we can get to all of this treasure!”

The sorceress then went for the closest sack of treasure and began to examine its contents. “Let’s see, gold, gems, the usual.” She said, and sighed. “Just once, I’d like to find something a bit more interesting whenever we take down a group of bandits.”

“Like a statue or something? Hey, didn’t we find like a really important statue a long time ago?” Gourry asked.

Lina recalled a particular statue. It was made of orihalcum and got her involved with a plot to resurrect the darklord Shabrinigdo. A chill went down her spine.

“Eh heh, maybe nothing that interesting.” Lina said.

“Well, I just remembered how you had it with you for the longest time.” Gourry said. “Say, whatever happened to it anyway?”

Lina stopped, and walked over to the blonde swordsman and smacked him over the head. "You blockhead! Don’t you remember anything?” she asked angrily.

Before Lina could continue berating Gourry, the both of them heard someone moving about in the trees nearby, and they both instantly turned their attention towards the sound.

Then, a woman came tumbling out of the forest, cape and hat crumpled over her form. When the woman got to her feet, Lina saw that the woman had light blue hair tied back, and aside from the suspiciously familiar hat and cape, she was completely naked.

“Lina is that you?” the woman asked.

And then it clicked for Lina. “Trixie? What are you doing here?” She asked.

Gourry was at a loss for words, but held a hand over his eyes.

“And what the heck are you doing without any clothes on!?” Lina said, bolting for Trixie and immediately closing the former showmare’s cape. “Sheesh, what are you doing walking around like that? You’re gonna catch a cold or let some guy see you naked!”

Trixie looked down at the sorceress; she was much shorter than she remembered. “What’s wrong with that?” Trixie asked. “Trixie doesn’t always wear her hat and cape you know.”

She then opened the cloak, exposing Lina directly to her chest.

Lina turned red and covered Trixie back up with her ape. “Quit showing off! Just keep that on until we can make you decent alright?”

“Trixie still doesn’t understand, but if you _insist_.” She said and followed Lina.

The sorceress then pulled off her own cape and began to rummage through the various storage pockets it concealed. “Ha, this should do it!” Lina said as she pulled out some clothes. They were a light blue woman’s longsleeve shire, vest and pants with gold trim. “Here, put these on.”

Trixie looked at the garments. “Do you think you can help Trixie?” She asked.

////

Lina and Trixie returned to the clearing where Gourry still stood with his eyes covered.

“You can look now Gourry.” Lina said flatly to which the swordsman complied.

“Hey, I just didn’t want you to get mad at me or something.” Gourry said. “Especially if I said something about your friend having bigger-“

He was cut off when Lina punched him behind his head.

“I get it Gourry.” Lina said, barely able to contain her contempt. “But I don’t get it Trixie, why are you here?”

“Wait, who’s Trixie?” Gourry asked. “…And why do I feel like I should remember that name?"

“You really don’t remember Gourry?” Lina asked. “Remember that time in the desert when when you got kidnapped and we had to fight that jackal-horse monster?”

Gourry still had a blank stare.

“We were ponies.” Lina said

“Oh yeah.” Gourry said. “Now I remember, Trixie was that cute little blue pony with the starry hat! But she’s not a pony Lina!”

Unbeknownst to Lina, Trixie blushed at the way Gourry referred to her. And for a second time, the sorceress struck the swordsman in the back of the head.

“While my friend here has trouble figuring out things, I am still curious Trixie. Why are you human?” Lina asked “I wonder if it’s because you left your world. And I _still_ want to know why are you here.”

Trixie shifted a bit uncomfortably. “Uhh, Trixie may have found another mirror to your world somehow. And then she fell out of a tree.”

“Well then, we should probably find that mirror to get you home then?” Lina said.

Trixie then led the others to where she made her abrupt introduction with this world. Just as they cleared the tree line, Trixie spoke. “Well, it would look like Trixie fell out of the mirror in that tree.”

And as if by fate a gust of wind blew and shook the mirror free of the branches and sent it crashing to the ground. Everyone grimaced and flinched when the mirror shattered.

Lina then moved with her arms bent at her sides towards the debris and then turned around. “Well, how about I show you around?”

 


	2. Blood That Flows

Blood That Flows

It was a strange place to be gathered. Furniture strewn about in the middle of the forest. The three sitting around a cooking fire amid luxurious chairs in an outdoor “mansion”.

“Is this normal for you in your world?” Trixie asked. “To just live outside without a roof?”

Lina looked puzzled. “Oh this? No, Gourry and I just cleared out some bandits from here.” She said. “By the looks of it, they must have hit a really high end place to get all of this stuff.”

She turned to the swordsman. “That reminds me. Gourry, get started on dinner will you? It’s your turn to cook. These bandits have got to have something to cook around here.”

“On it Lina!” Gourry replied as he sprang up to search the bounty.

The sun was beginning to set, and Lina took the time to continue her inquiry of Trixie’s presence on this world. “So what gives?” she asked. “You don’t look particularly excited to see me, and usually those are people _I have_ thrown a fireball at.”

Trixie frowned and spoke, “Your advice did not do Trixie well. Not in the slightest! She wanted to get more power, she even toiled on a rock farm for weeks to be able to afford the final piece in her plans to best that Twilight Sparkle once and for all!” The former showmare had stood up with a fist in the air.

“But it wasn’t to be. Trixie was foiled in the end by a simple trick and worse yet, she’d been controlled by the very powers she used!” she said.

Lina squinted her eyes and bent her neck before slowly asking, “Martina?”

“Who?” Trixie replied.

“Nevermind.” Lina said, waving her hand. “But just hold up for a moment. You said a whole lot that confused me back there. What was this about being controlled by the power you used?”

“Trixie acquitted the alicorn amulet from a shopkeeper at the Dry Outpost. With it, she had the power to defeat Twilight Sparkle in a magic duel.”

Lina pinched the bridge of her nose. “So that was the dark presence I felt when we walked at the outpost.” She said. “Why would you go after something like that after I specifically said not to?”

Trixie leaned forward. “You were the one that said if I saw a way to get stronger, I should take it. And that’s exactly what Trixie did!” She then sunk back into her chair, with half laden eyes.

“But a lot of good that did. It made Trixie almost do terrible things. She took over a town and put a bubble keeping everypony out.”

“Yeah, dark magic will do that.” Lina said. “And it’s easy to let being powerful go to your head too. Unless you're me of course.”

Trixie raised a brow at Lina.

“Come on! You’ve seen what I can do.” Lina said. “Not just anyone can wield the Dragon Slave and still maintain the maturity and poise I have.” She turned to her partner. “Hey Gourry, hurry up already, I’m starving here!”

“Of course.” Trixie said.

“Well, it seems to me that you tried to take the shortcut to getting stronger, but that doesn’t mean anything if you can’t control your powers.” Lina said. “Luckily for you, you’ve got on the best around to teach you. A sorcery genius no less. Just don’t ask me to teach you the Dragon Slave, OK?”

“Trixie isn’t looking to be powerful anymore.” She said lamenting.

“Jeez, you’ve been gloomy ever since I saw you again.” Lina said. “Whatever happened to, ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie!’?” Lina had stood up with a leg on her chair.

“She never had a great hold over actual magic, just the stage variety.” Trixie said. “Now Trixie isn’t even sure if she can manage that anymore.”

Lina scowled. “Look, did anyone get hurt when you under the amulet’s influence?”

Trixie shook her head.

“I’ve known plenty of times when a fireball spell was miscast by some newbie and it got people hurt.” Lina said. “But I’m not gonna let you be one of those people who run away from magic because they’re scared of it. _Especially_ stage magic. AND BESIDES, you said you wanted to become more powerful, and I’m going to help you.”

Trixie looked at Lina with a renewed sense of hope.

“In exchange for you working for me!” Lina said.

“Soup’s ready!” Gourry said, bringing back three bowls of their meal.

“Great, I’ve been dying of hunger over here!” Lina said, and began to wolf down the stew.

Trixie looked at her bowl. It smelled amazing and she couldn’t help but dig in. Without her horn to levitate the utensil, she’d have to use this new claw on her foreleg…arm? Her new appendages worked similarly to the way hooves grabbed everyday items, so holding onto a spoon required little effort.

It was a savory mix of flavors. Since Trixie hadn’t eaten for the better part of the day, she welcomed anything right now. There was, however, a new flavor in this stew, one that was quite off. It wasn’t sort of the savory nature of a mushroom, but with a different texture.

“This food is fantastic! Trixie has never had anything quite like this.” Trixie said.

Lina, while in the midst of slurping down her bowl of soup, suddenly went still. “Say Trixie, have you ever had beef stew?” she slowly asked.

“What’s beef? Trixie asked, having just eaten through more than half of her portion.

“Oh, its cow meat.” Gourry said, with a finger to his chin. “but I guess since cow meat sounds weird, beef sounds better.”

Lina turned to him and glared, only for moments later to hear Trixie let out a blood curdling scream.

Trixie threw her bowl into the air. “I ate meat?!” she exclaimed. “Trixie ate a cow!? She’s no griffon! For shame! If the ponies back in Equestria found out about this, there’d never be a way for her to return!”

“Well, technically we still don’t know if there is a way to send you home.” Lina said. “But either way, as long as your with us, you’re going to be seeing us eat a lot of meat.”

“Well, Trixie isn’t too bothered with others eating it, but to eat it herself,” Trixie shuddered. “Brrr, that’s another story.”

“Let’s see.” Gourry said, bringing out a sack of food. “Something that doesn’t have meat. Bread, cheese, tomatoes.”

“That will do.” Trixie said, taking the bag. “A sandwich will do.”

////

After they had eaten, Lina had set down her fifth bowl of stew; something that still horrified Trixie was the sheer amount of food the sorceress could eat, aside from the fact that she’d actually eaten some of it.

“So Trixie,” Lina said. “What do you say? Do you want to learn from _The_ Lina Inverse? Or are you just going to sit there? Because honestly, I’ve got things to do, treasures to claim, and enemies to defeat. So I could really care less if you join or not, but I could really use a personal assistant though.

“For Trixie, there really wasn’t much of an option now. With the mirror that would send her home in pieces, she’d probably need to get accustomed to this world and quick. While Lina was not the most pleasant person to be around, she did know who to use magic and at least she’d gain learn something from this proclaimed sorcery genius.

“Deal!” Trixie said, holding a fist towards Lina.

The sorceress then extended her own hand and opened Trixie’s fist into a handshake. “Great!” you can start by cleaning up here!” Lina said.

Trixie looked around the campfire. Somehow the three of them managed to create an extensive mess. She let out a sigh.

////

In the morning, Trixie was already put to work again, Lina had begun sorting through the bandit’s bounty. “Alright Gourry, get started on loading a cart up.” She said.

Trixie looked on as Gourry moved many heavy looking items and placed them on one of the bandit’s carts. He moved almost effortlessly with a treasure chest in his arms.

She remembered that brief encounter with him when he was an earth pony. How firmly built he was, how confidently he used his blade. In a way, him turning back into a human hardly changed his handsomeness.

He certainly wasn’t the brightest pony, or human, but Trixie felt there was something about him.

“Hey Trixie!” Gourry said. “How about passing me that stuff near you to load up?”

The former mare realized that she had been idle for a great while before she reset and handed Gourry what she had been carrying over.

“So you’re going to learn magic from Lina, huh?” Gourry asked. “You know, she’s pretty strong, so you’re probably going to get strong like her from all that training. Well, unless you make her angry, then she gets _really_ scary.” He continued, while smiling.

“But I don’t think you’ll do that!” Gourry then picked up the cart by its shaft and pulled it.

“Right.” Trixie said, trying to recover from the swordsman’s mixed speech.

When they caught up with Lina, the sorceress had just about ransacked every last piece of furniture that the bandits had in their makeshift living space. “Well, we’ve pretty much have got everything we need.” Lina said. “Now we just got to get to town and sell this loot.”

////

The three travelers made their way down the first path that connected with the forest. Lina carried herself at a leisurely pace with Gourry behind her, who seemed to hardly be troubled by the cart he was towing.

Trixie found it odd, that she herself was moving at a brisk pace on only two legs. It hadn’t been a full day in this human body and she’d already become accustomed to walking.

“Alright then.” Lina said. “First lesson: What is the most basic of fire spells?”

Trixie had seen Lina use fire attacks during the Aneighbus incident.” Is it a fireball?” Trixie asked.

Lina then began to charge magic into her hands until a glow of yellow light concentrated itself. Then, in a quick motion, she chucked the spell directly at Trixie. “Heads up!” Lina said.

Trixie didn’t have any time to react, apart from falling to the ground with her arms over her head. However, instead of fiery pain or death, Trixie only felt a slight bit of warmth just above her.

“Come on Trixie.” Lina said. “Don’t you remember that time back at the inn? I heated up the bath with a weaker version of the fireball spell.”

Trixie looked up to see a floating orb above her.

“This is a light spell that uses the smallest amount of fire magic to create light.” Lina said “There are other types of light spells, but the one you see here is more like a candle.”

Trixie stood up and reached for the floating orb. “Trixie can feel it. It’s like a small flame.”

“So have you ever cast a light spell before?” Lina asked.

“Yes, it’s one of the first spells a unicorn learns.” Trixie replied. “But Trixie doesn’t have a horn anymore.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t have hands when I was in your world and I could still cast my spells.” Lina said. “You just need to try to cast it differently.”

Trixie remembered what it felt like to channel magic into her horn, but instead sent the energy towards her hands. To her surprise, her hands became encased in the same purple aura her horn would have cast.

Light began to focus into small spheres at the ends of her hands.

“Wow, I’ve never seen it done like that by a beginner.” Lina said. “Each of your fingers has a small point of light. While that does look interesting, it’s better to concentrate your magic into a single point.”

Lina held up a finger and it began to glow with power. “I recommend your index finger.”

“Index finger?” Trixie asked.

“Yeah, this one.” Lina said, making a circle with hers. “It’s the focus for most types of spells you cast. I suspect it’s the same way for you unicorns.” She then turned the energy into a small flame.

“Now try to do the same with your light magic.” Lina said.

Trixie then pulled the energy she was using from each of her fingers and began to direct it to where Lina told her to. All of the light focused on her left index finger. Trixie stared at the glowing point. She’d never been able to inspect it this closely as her horn was above her eyes whenever she used magic before.

“A lefty huh?” Lina asked. “Well, now that you’ve got this spell channeled, see if you can send it outward.”

Trixie then shot the spell forward and glowing ball of light moved straight ahead of the group.

“So now, you’ve got a basic grip on preparing a spell.” Lina said. “Now you need to make your light spell into a fire spell. For that, you need to understand a few things about black, or destruction magic.”

“Black magic?” Trixie asked with hesitancy. “Isn’t that dark magic?”

“Not necessarily.” Lina said. “It’s more along the vein of destruction, like I originally said. It’s just that it’s easier to say ‘black magic’. Need something blown up? Use black magic!” Lina pointed her finger at a rock and not a second later a small fireball collided with it and shattered it.

“Need healing? Use white magic!” Lina said, and then weaved her magic into a glowing sweep of ethereal force around Trixie.

“Want to harness the elements around you? Use shamanism!” Lina said, then putting her hand to the ground and causing a small chunk of the earth to sprout up.

 

Trixie still wore a look of confusion.

“Okay, so it’s something I noticed when I went to your world.” Lina said. “Normally, black magic relies on using negative feelings and energy to use. But when I was a pony, there was a different source for my spells. It was like magical energy was everywhere. I didn’t need to channel it from the usual sources.”

“Not that it was easy to use them in the first place. “ Lina said, pointing with her hand in a matter of fact manner.

“So what does this all mean for Trixie?” Trixie asked.

“Well, you’re going to need to learn to draw power from all those negative feelings, for fire spells, anger just about does the trick.” Lina said. “There are almost always people angry about something. Give it a try.”

Trixie looked at another ball of light she had formed on her finger. She then began to think about the indignities she’d suffered, and most of all that feeling he had when she was first driven out of Ponyville.

“No.” Lina said. “I can see it in your face. _You’re_ not supposed to get angry. You need to feel the energy around you for it.”

As they continued walking, Trixie was trying to feel for the angry energy Lina was talking about. There was magic around her in this world just like in Equestria, but it felt so different. It felt wild and chaotic. It reminded her of the a similar feeling when she passed near the Everfree forest near Ponyville.

Once again, her fingertip had a light glowing upon it, but she began to see it change into a small flame. “Ahhh!” Trixie yelped.

Lina stared flatly at her.

“Eh heh heh.” Trixie laughed. “Right.” she then refocused her magic and continued to practice using fire magic.

////

About an hour further of traveling, the group was met by what appeared to be a small contingence of soldiers. They stopped directly in front of the trio, forcing Lina and company to stop in their tracks.

“By order of Lord Nexpanor, identify yourselves!” the captain of the group said as he stepped forward.

“Hey, what gives?” Lina asked indignantly. “Can’t a bunch of mercenaries just get to town?” she muttered to herself.

“We’ll be the ones asking the questions.” The captain said. “We need to keep this area safe from bandits.”

“Oh, is that all?” Lina asked. “Well, then you’ll be happy to know that they’ve been dealt with. So how’s about a reward for saving you the trouble of finding them?

The captain wore a look of shock. “A reward? You’re under arrest for interfering on official Nexpanor business!”

“What the heck?” Lina asked incredulously. “What kind of soldiers are you all?” We just did you a favor by getting rid of those bandits! Who wants bandits around?”

Lina’s eyes then widened a bit in realization before turning to a glare.

“So you took care of them eh?” the captain said. “Well, that just makes thing easier then I can assume all of those items came from the bandit group?”

“What’s it to you? Lina asked. “Are you going to pay us for recovering this stuff?”

“That’s none of your concern.” The captain said. “Those are Nexpanor goods.”

“Did they steal them from you?” Lina asked. “You should be nice enough to pay us for getting them back to you!”

“Hmm.” The captain scoffed.

“Oh, so it’s an arrangement you had then?” Lina asked. “Well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

Trixie looked at the Captain and at Lina during this exchange. _“Soldiers that make deals like this? Why would they associate themselves with bandits?”_ she thought.

“I suppose if my lord sees it fit, I can make sure you’ll be handsomely rewarded.” The captain said.

“On second thought.” Lina said. “I think I’ll try to see who’ll buy this stuff for a higher price. Gotta keep my options open.” She smiled and then called out to Gourry.

“Gourry, get ready. Trixie, get on the cart!” Lina and Trixie then jumped aboard.

“Now, don’t be foolish.” The captain said. “You’ve got nowhere to go and I’ve got my men in your way. You can’t get around us!”

“Let’s go Gourry!” Lina yelled.

The swordsman then made a dash forward. Several spearmen pointed their weapons at the oncoming cart. Trixie just braced herself for the worst. Gourry wasn’t a pegasus, and even then a lone pegasus wouldn’t be able to lift a load this large over that many soldiers.

“Ray wing!” Lina invoked, and a burst of air pushed everyone high into the air.

Trixie remembered the time Lina jumped off an airship and used this spell and forced her to hold on for dear life, impressive since Lina moved through the air without wings. But to bring this whole cart like this was nothing short of amazing.

Lina wasn’t finished quite yet. As soon as the cart cleared the soldiers, Lina made her way to the back of the cart. She had her right arm raised and a faint, blue glow in the palm of her hand. Trixie wondered if this was another light spell, but then saw the spell take shape.

It looked as if Lina had conjured a giant icicle in her hand. “Freeze arrow!” She then launched it downward at the soldiers, and when it hit, it encased them all in ice.

“Yeah, try and stop us now!” Lina yelled, taunting the captain.

The cart landed with a clunk, but remained intact. Gourry landed otherwise okay and continued to pull the cart after Trixie and Lina disembarked. The group continued down the path without any further interruptions.

 


	3. Buried

Buried

 

They’d finally made their way to the first sign of a city after a few hours down the path. It wasn’t an impressive location, like Sayruun, but this place could be forgiven since it wasn’t a central magic capital.

 

 

Trixie looked on in awe at her first human city, only to realize it was almost exactly what she’d expect from an average town in Equestria, except with humans going about their day.

 

 

“Alright then, let’s get tow work!” Lina said, jumping off the cart and stretching. “We’ve got loads to sell and I’ve got things to magically launder..er..I mean improve. But first, let’s get something to eat!”

 

 

“Yeah, I’m starving!” Gourry said, allowing the handles of the cart to hit the ground.

 

 

“Well Trixie,” could you be a good assistant and bring that cart into town with us?” Lina asked. “After all, Gourry was good enough to hike it all the way over here.”

 

 

“Yes Lina.” Trixie hesitantly said and then set about picking up the handles and began to move, but she should only manage a few paces before she dropped them.

 

 

“What?” Lina asked. “Don’t tell me you can’t carry the cart even a few measly steps?” The sorceress turned around to frown at Trixie, but instead of seeing someone struggling to move the cart, she only saw the look of worry coming from the former mare.

 

 

“What’s wrong Trixie?” Gourry asked.

 

 

Trixie just couldn’t believe what she saw, horses. They were different from the ponies back home. They were tied to posts, ridden by humans, and not doing much else apart from just being…there.

 

 

“Lina,” Trixie said trying to find words.

 

 

“Look Trixie, horses around here aren’t like you or your friends back home. They’re just animals over here. We use them for work and to travel.” Lina slowly approached Trixie. “Are you going to be okay?”

 

 

Trixie nodded.

 

 

Lina patted Trixie on the shoulder. “Good, I’d hate to have my newest apprentice freak out on me in less than one day. Well, at least that’s better than the last time.” Lina shuddered.

 

 

“What do you mean?” Trixie asked.

 

 

“Nevermind.” Lina said. “She was a different story. All I need you to do is hold it together if you’re going to be casting spells around me.”

 

 

////

 

 

They had already sat down for their next meal, Lina and Gourry immediately began ordering multiple portions of food off the menu while, Trixie resigned herself to bread and soup. Everything else just seemed to include meat. Compared to her bowl of lentils and bread, the meat filled dishes that Lina and Gourry had looked much more extravagant.

 

 

Their food did smell tantalizing as well. No! Trixie must not! It’s horrible! She resigned herself to her meal as Lina and Gourry scarfed down their food.

 

 

Trixie wondered to herself. This is absolutely frightening. Will eating meat make Trixie more grotesque like these two? But upon looking at the other patrons, they all seemed relatively normal with the same types of dishes. Great, Trixie is stuck with lunatics.

 

 

“Alright Trixie.” Lina said, her mouth still full of food. ”Let’s see what you can do. “Hot soup is the best kind of soup, even if it’s only a lentil soup, so how about you try and heat up that bowl in front of you.”

 

 

Trixie put her spoon down and looked at her food. Truth be told Lina, Trixie is fine with her soup as is, but if you want her to show how much she’s learned… Trixie concentrated a small sphere of warm light on her fingertip. She then moved it to the soup.

 

 

Had it been a wooden bowl, she would not have tried this, but she suspected Lina knew the same. The last thing she needed to do was accidentally start a fire here. She let a tiny ball of flame release from her finger and enter the soup.

 

 

The liquid bubbled slightly from the heat and steam began to rise from the bowl as if it had just left the kitchen.

 

 

“Nice one Trixie.” Lina said.

 

 

Trixie picked up her spoon and resumed eating. The moment she ate a spoonful, she was met with the intense heat of soup that was too fresh. “Ahh!” Trixie yelped after nearly scalding her moth off.

 

 

“Oh, I guess you heated it up a bit too much.” Lina said. “Well, now’s a great time for you to get a lesson on ice spells.”

 

 

Lina had set her silverware down to begin the lesson; Gourry had stopped momentarily to observe Lina begin another lesson but then continued working on his meal.

 

 

“So the thing about fire magic is that almost any third rate wizard can do the more basic fire spells. But why are they so easy to cast, you might be wondering.” Lina said. “Well it all comes down to knowing what fire and heat are.”

 

 

Lina took a large swig of her drink.

 

 

“Everyone knows that when you burn something, you’re making it release heat and energy, but what takes so many people , even magic users to get their heads around, is that ice spells are more cold than ice.”

 

 

“Alright Trixie, here’s how it goes.” Lina said after taking another bite of her food. “Take your magic and concentrate it the same way you did with the fire spell.”

 

 

Reluctantly, Trixie concentrated her magic once more. “Okay, but Trixie still doesn’t understand what you’re getting at.”

 

 

“Cold is what you have without heat around.” Lina said.

 

 

Trixie examined the magic she was focusing. “So, is Trixie supposed to make the energy leave?” She tried to make the fire disperse, but the spell only went back to its original light form.

 

 

“Do you remember what I said about what it takes to use black magic?” Lina asked.

 

 

“Yes.”

 

 

“Well, just like anger in this world fuels fire spells, you need to use sad energies to cast cold or ice spells.” Lina held out her hand to show a sphere of magic forming that glowed a bright blue.

 

 

Trixie looked at her hand and began to concentrate. Sadness. She thought. Trixie has been sad plenty of times. She remembered those moments after every “defeat” when she had to pick up the pieces.

 

 

Then there was that latest low, in the desert, wandering listlessly for the longest time, and despite the heat of the day setting in she remembered how cold she felt on the inside.

 

 

It’s not you that needs to be sad, Trixie. She thought and then felt around for the same sadness of others around her.

 

 

The light on her finger then shifted from white to bright blue and the air around her finger grew noticeably colder. She moved the light to the bowl of hot soup, and almost instantly, the mixture returned to the way it was moments before her first shot of magic.

 

 

Trixie took her spoon and had another mouthful of soup.

 

 

“Back to where it needs to be?” Lina asked.

 

 

“Yes.” Trixie said.

 

 

“So I’d guess just about now that you must be a bit terse with me for not teaching you the really dangerous stuff from the get go.” Lina said “Well, it’s all a part of the training!” Even with little scenarios like this, you’d be surprised how useful back magic can be.”

 

 

“It doesn’t have to always be about blowing things up.” Lina said.

 

 

“But isn’t that what you do all the time Lina?” Gourry asked after swallowing another helping of his food.

 

 

“Shut up Gourry, I’m trying to make a point here!” Lina yelled back. She then turned back to Trixie. “My point is that all these upstart wizards and sorceresses think they’ve got to use the biggest spells. You gotta know the small spells as well as the big ones.”

 

 

“Oh, that won’t be a problem for Trixie then.” She said. “She doesn’t really need to learn how to use the dangerous ones.”

 

 

Lina gave Trixie an odd look as the former mare only silently returned to her meal after that statement. “Well, just because you want to play it safe, doesn’t mean you’re ready anyways. Besides, you’ve only learned the basics; you haven’t even learned an actual spell.”

 

 

////

 

 

After the meal, the group went about town selling items that Lina and Gourry had relieved the bandits of. It astonished Trixie how much of a glib tongue Lina had when it came to convincing shop keeps into buying her items.

 

 

Lina was not anywhere as brash as she was when speaking to Gourry, yet the merchants bought the act as easily as they bought the goods.

 

 

You’re good with magic, Lina, Trixie can give you credit for that. But Trixie can do this a lot better. She thought.

 

 

“So what do you say?” Lina asked the newest shopkeeper. “Fifteen gold per gem?”

 

 

“Well, I don’t know, seems like an awful lot, even if it is a magic gem.” The merchant said.

 

 

She’d only been watching Lina’s negotiations for the better part of the day, but she decided to toss her hat into the financial fray. This was her chance to show her worth.

 

 

Trixie had only been standing idly by in the shop as Lina had haggled, and then she made her move. She turned around and spoke to both of them. “Fifteen gold?” Trixie said interrupting.

 

 

“If you ask Trixie, these gems are worth far more than that!” she spoke using her stage voice. “Why, enchanted gems are very hard to come by. How does a hundred for all five sound?” the former showmare said.

 

 

Lina turned at Trixie with a puzzled look, but didn’t let on to being surprised.

 

 

“Trixie would easily pay good money for enchanted gemstones. They simply take such a long time to create, but Trixie is always in need of the highest caliber magic gems. She can’t spend all day making her own.” She moved over to Lina and asked for a gemstone to examine.

 

 

“Oh yes, you can see these runes were crafted with precision and care!” Trixie said. As more patrons in the market began to trickle into the shop out of curiosity. “The Frugal and Deal Seeking Trixie knows a good deal when she sees one.”

 

 

“25 gold per gem!” the shopkeeper said.

 

 

“Looks like you’re out of luck there Trixie.” Lina said, turning to the shop keep. “This guy’s put a better offer than you have.

 

 

“Very well.” Trixie said. “Trixie concedes this contest.” And vanished in a puff of smoke.

 

 

Lina, after having made the exchange, departed from the shop. “Pleasure doing business with you!” when she was outside, she saw a surely Trixie leaning against a post.

 

 

“Not bad.” Lina said, complimenting Trixie. “You helped rack up some extra money there. I could have sworn that he wasn’t almost gonna go for that deal. I didn’t know you were in the swindling business.”

 

 

“Trixie is no mere charlatan. It’s all about the ability to astound!” Trixie said.

 

 

“Still though, you were pushing it.” Lina said.

 

 

“You just need to know your audience.” Trixie said. “It wasn’t the merchant Trixie was trying to impress, but the crowd that needed convincing.” She adjusted her cloak and hat as they walked.

 

 

“He’s the one who’d have to save face in front of all those potential customers.” Trixie said. “By the way, what did all those gems do anyways?”

 

 

“Oh, just a few enhancement spells that affect the person carrying it around, like a little bit of strength, nothing crazy like the things I wear.” Lina said and then subconsciously laid her hands on the talisman on her gloves.

 

 

“Well, it been a busy day, I’d say it’s about time we relax for a bit. You did pretty good today Trixie.” Lina said, slapping her new associate on the back.

 

 

////

 

 

Later at an inn. The group had checked in and had begun to prepare for an evening of relaxation. The two ladies were in their quarters while Gourry had taken up lodging separately, as Lina always had it go.

 

 

“It’s been such a long time since I’ve been to a hot spring.” Lina said. “Roughing it out in the wilderness really takes its toll, and a girl’s got to have some down time once in a while.”

 

 

She was readying to leave in a towel, when she heard Trixie begin to complain. “Agh! The floor is so cold! Why is everything so cold?!” The illusionist stepped out of the dress room stark naked, clutching herself in order to stay warm.

 

 

“Hey, we might be going to the springs, but that doesn’t mean you can just march on over then with nothing on!” Lina said indignantly and then threw a towel at Trixie.

 

 

After putting it on, Trixie still appeared uncomfortable. “Trixie is still cold, what good will this do?”

 

 

Lina opened the door and the two of them made their way into the hall towards the springs. It was at that moment as well when Gourry had exited his room to enter the male section of the springs.

 

 

Trixie could only stare on at the swordsman with only a towel on. Oh my, He’s not even a pony, but he’s built like a draft horse. She thought as Gourry passed by. She followed right behind him as he was passed through into the springs.

 

 

“Whoa there.” Lina said. “You can’t just go in there with guys….right, pony culture. Look Trixie, I don’t know exactly what kind of rules you have over in Equestria, but here, guys and gals don’t bathe together.

 

 

“Oh! Trixie was just a tad curious was all.” She said. “It’s strange that your males feel the need to hide themselves.”

 

 

Lina grabbed Trixie by the ear. “Come on!” The ladies’ side is over here!”

 

 

////

 

 

After sinking into the water, Lina sighted from the superheated bliss. “Ahh, now that’s the stuff.”

 

 

Trixie had joined not seconds later and was keenly delighted from the hot water. “Mmm, the water feels so much different without Trixie’s coat.” She said. “It’s wonderful.”

 

 

“Yeah, days of adventuring always end best with a visit to the springs.” Lina said. “The heat really works the kinks out of your sore joints.”

 

 

“It’s so lovely.” Trixie said.

 

 

“And don’t get me started on my feet.” Lina said. “Miles of walking with even the best shoes still takes a toll.”

 

 

“Trixie agrees, she can’t understand why she’s so tired after only a few miles of walking. Maybe its because of human legs?” She asked, musing.

 

 

“I think that pretty much sums it up.” Lina said, reclining back in the water.

 

 

“Trixie would never have had such a problem on hooves instead of these.” She raised a foot over the surface of the water and wiggled her toes. “And then there are these things.” She brought her hands above the surface of the water.

 

 

“Well, it helps in spellcasting.” Lina said “You can literally get a feel for the energy around you and can even tell when someone else is casting magic.”

 

 

“Oh, Trixie gets it.” She said. “Unicorns are usually only sensitive to magic through their horns.”

 

 

“Well, you’re a quick learner at least.” Lina said. “Did you ever get any formal training or something?”

 

 

Trixie shifted a bit in the water. “Well, Trixie did go to a school for gifted unicorns.” She said.

 

 

“Wow, really?” Lina asked, moving closer towards the former unicorn. “What sort of things did they teach you there? You didn’t happen to learn any spells that turned things into gold did you?”

 

 

By this point, Lina was right in Trixie’s face, which unnerved the showmare. “Um, no.” Trixie replied. “She sort have didn’t finish school.”

 

 

“Are you kidding me?” Lina asked, exasperated, and slumped into the water. “What happened? You don’t strike me as the type that wouldn’t be able to learn her stuff.”

 

 

“Trixie,” she said with hesitation. “never studied. So she ended up fulfilling her other life’s dream and taking to the road as a performer!” Trixie had her arm outstretched to emphasize her passion for the stage.

 

 

“That didn’t look like it turned out well for you.” Lina said flatly. “Now you’re at what you called rock bottom, and you’re working as my assistance/apprentice, trying to make a new life as a sorceress.”

 

 

Trixie only slumped back from the deflated boast, but managed to recover. “Well, there are some perks to this career change.”

 

 

“Hey, don’t think that because you just so happen to be at a nice hot spring with me will mean that I’m going to take it easy on you.” Lina said. “I expect you to work on our laundry tomorrow.”

 

 

“Yes, of course Trixie will.” She said, partially paying no mind to the threat.

 

 

“And let’s not forget, I could always use someone to take inventory of all my treasure and supplies.” Lina said with a finger to her chin. “Now that I think about it, can you even write?”

 

 

“Of course Trixie is literate!” she said, fuming. “She went to school before the one for gifted unicorns! Why she could use her horn to write notes so quickly-oh...” Trixie put a hand above her head in memory of the lost limb.

 

 

“How does one write? With their mouth, oh that’s going to be a chore.”

 

 

Lina blinked. “No, of course not. You use your hands to hold a pen of course!”

 

 

“Is that so?” Trixie asked

 

 

“It’s sort of like pointing with your finger, except you’re holding your pen between these two fingers.” Lina said while bringing together her finger and thumb into a pinching motion. Sort of like how you held that spoon earlier.”

 

 

Trixie began playing around with her own fingers, noting their precision. “Humans are so strange. Hands are also very weird. Everything is just so sensitive for humans.”

 

 

“And then there are these things.” Trixie said while unabashedly holding her chest. “They’re perhaps the strangest things of all.”

 

 

Lina scowled.

 

 

“They’re just so heavy and make Trixie feel strange when moving. And Trixie wonders, why are yours not nearly as large as hers?”

 

 

Lina muttered a short curse. “Don’t worry about it Trixie.” She said.

 

 

“It’s just like when you clammed up about your tiny horn when you were a unicorn.” Trixie said. “Could it be that…” There was a great silence between the two of them.

 

 

“Is Trixie indeed just as marvelous and beautiful as a human just as she was as a pony?” she asked excitedly.

 

 

Lina growled. “Ugh. That’s it, I’m going to bed.” Flinging her arms in the air and left Trixie alone.

 

 

“You know, she gets really angry when you bring up her chest.” Gourry’s voice came from the other side of the partition of the hot springs.

 

 

Trixie gasped. “Were you listening in on us?” she asked.

 

 

“No, I usually don’t listen in on Lina, but when she gets angry I sort of start to pay attention. Just in case she’s in trouble or something.”

 

 

Trixie played around with the water a bit. “So, if Trixie may ask, what is it that you do besides adventure off with Lina?”

 

 

“I’m her guardian for the most part.” Gourry replied.

 

 

“Guardian?” Trixie asked.

 

 

“Oh! Not like her parents or anything!” Gourry said hastily. “No, I just pretty much go wherever she goes. The best part has to be the food.”

 

 

He’s so oblivious. Trixie thought. She turned her head and sunk into the water. Oh well, better make the most of this. She closed her eyes and let the water work its magic on her tired body. It’s so different, but it feels nice. Ugh, Trixie is going to freeze the moment she gets out. Oh how she longs for her beautiful azure coat.

 

“So, are you like sad or something?” Gourry hesitantly asked.

 

 

Trixie’s eyes blinked open, caught off guard by the question. “Whatever do you mean? She asked.

 

 

“Well, you seemed pretty excited the last time we saw you. “ Gourry said. “You wanted Lina to teach you how to use magic like she does. But you’ve been mostly gloomy since we met you again. I thought you’d be excited to find Lina.

 

 

Trixie’s magic almost hurt ponies back home. She wanted to be stronger… “Trixie is perfectly fine learning magic the way she is now!” she exclaimed. “Eh heh, what Trixie means is that she will become as powerful as Lina in due time.”

 

 

“Hey, you remind me of a friend of mine.” Gourry said. “Her name is Sylphiel. She was so scared of using spells, but man can she make a good stew.” He then sighed, lamenting its tastiness.

 

 

Trixie was still afraid, as much as this girl Gourry had described, possibly more so. Only some time earlier, she had shown real enthusiasm to learn Lina’s spells. Certainly, any one of them would have been enough to have defeated Twilight Sparkle in a duel.

 

 

But how far would have I gone? Any one of Lina’s spells had the ability to evoke a swath of destruction. Would she have let that power control her just like the Alicorn Amulet?

 

She once again shifted in the water to try to shake off the uncomfortable feeling.

 

 

“Okay, so maybe Trixie is a bit afraid of using magic now.” She said.

 

 

“Really?” Gourry asked. “What happened?”

 

 

“It was Trixie’s latest and greatest.” She spoke with a confident tone until the last word. “blunder.” Silence followed and the only the idle movements of water could be heard.

 

 

“Trixie thought she could be more powerful than that Twilight Sparkle if only she had the Alicorn Amulet, but she almost ended up as a monster because of it. The amulet only made her want more power.”

 

 

“So what happened?” Gourry asked.

 

 

“Of all things, she was tricked by illusions and slight of hoof. Thankfully though, they got the amulet away from Trixie.”

 

 

“Sounds pretty scary.” Gourry said. “Lina told me I got brainwashed a while back and had to fight against our friends.”

 

 

“It’s not really the same.” Trixie said. “But she gets what you’re saying. She’s okay now.”

 

 

“But if you got really strong from than Apricot Amulet with magic, why do you need Lina to teach you spells?” Gourry asked.

 

 

It was true, she used things far more complex that heat and cold magic. She was turning young colts into foals and old fogies with her magic. She knew how that magic worked, but even just thinking about it hit Trixie with a wave of cold chills.

 

 

There was a darkness there that connected itself with the magic. There’s somepony or something in my head, wanting me to go back to those spells. Trixie thought. “Every time Trixie thinks about the magic she used before, there’s something…there, that terrifies her.

 

 

“So is that why you’re scared of magic?” Gourry asked.

 

 

“Trixie still has her fears.” She said while moving her fingers in the water. “But those are just performance jitters. Trixie will show you all yet how she’ll be great and powerful again! Yes, Trixie will learn the secrets Lina Inverse will teach her and then she’ll return to Equestria better than ever!”

 

 

Trixie had stood up in determination from her speech, pointing a finger outward as she assumed a performer’s pose.

 

 

“Oh, it’s so cold without Trixie’s coat.” She said with a shiver.


End file.
